Sony vs. Microsoft game console wars reignite

Sony is trying to steal some of Microsoft's thunder by offering a few fleeting glimpses of the Playstation 4 hardware on the eve of a Microsoft Xbox event.

Sony is trying to steal some of Microsoft's thunder by offering a few fleeting glimpses of the Playstation 4 hardware on the eve of a Microsoft Xbox event.

A new teaser video on YouTube shows a fuzzy black box, gradually floating closer to the camera, while partial images of what appear to be the PS4 hardware flash into view. The video promises a chance to "see it first" at Sony's E3 press conference, scheduled for 6 p.m. PDT on June 10.

On the gaming forum NeoGAF, you can see all the supposed hardware images in one place, though they don't give much away. At best, we can see that the PS4 has its fair share of vents, odd angles, and design flourishes.

It's an amusing tease given that Microsoft's director of Xbox Live programming, Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, has taken a jab at Sony for not revealing the final PS4 design yet. "Announce a console without actually showing a console? That's one approach," he wrote on Twitter during Sony's reveal event in February.

On the latest Major Nelson podcast, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg said the company will spend Tuesday's event talking about the Xbox platform, and Microsoft's overall vision for the future. "People are going to get a great inside look at the making of the new platform and the team that brought it to life," Greenberg said, according to CVG.

At E3, Microsoft will focus on games, Greenberg said. He promised "tons of exclusives [and] world premieres." He also said Microsoft will have "a lot to share between then and this holiday," suggesting a late 2013 launch for the new console.

Sony will probably bring its own list of exclusive games to E3. While both companies will likely tout games made by their respective in-house studios, it'll be interesting to see how third-party publishers align themselves.

In the meantime, just sit back and watch the Sony vs. Microsoft console wars reignite. This won't be the last time these two heavyweights of gaming take potshots at each other as they try to win gamers over.